A Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface (SAS) topology commonly includes initiators (e.g., a SAS controller), switches, and target devices/disk drives (e.g., Joined Body of Disks, or “JBODs”) to implement multipath and redundant configurations, such as those found in Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage systems. Expanders are modules that are used to implement the switches and expand the topology. Generally, a switch comprises two inter-connected expanders (e.g., a master expander and a slave expander) with each expander connecting to each external connector of the switch. Thus, if one expander fails, the devices connected to the external connectors of the switch are still operable to communicate along the same connection path of the other expander, albeit in a degraded mode. Failing expanders do not automatically recover. Rather, an administrator or other user restores a failed expander via a debug communication port of the expander to correct the problem and resume operations.